Crimson
by bejuizb
Summary: She remembered nothing from her past. Not even her own name. All she knew was pain. Would it ever end?
1. Chapter 1

She didn't know her name.

The woman looked up at the swirling gases outside her observation window, her only respite from her current nightmare. Her face burned as the corner of her mouth twitched. Nightmare was inadequate to explain her circumstance. So was hell.

She remembered waking up a while ago...specifics were out of the question. It could have been days, months, years ago. All she knew, felt, breathed, was pain.

Pure, unadulterated _pain_.

Every facet of her being was pushed to the limits, and the agony never stopped. Her eyes felt like lead. They wanted her to sleep. But she couldn't sleep. She _needed_ to be awake. They would be here soon.

_To hurt me._

She felt the familiar thrum of her Warframe around her. To others, it would have been nonexistant. But to a Tenno, a Warframe's mild vibration indicated that it was working. Her identity was in her suit, and because of those that held her now, that identity was marred, destroyed. Her past was lost to the annals of her shrouded past, never to be recovered.

The Warframe was her only link to her sanity. Without it, she would have passed on long ago.

She slowly tilted her head down, feeling her muscles scream in agony from just a simple task. She saw the metal floor, nearly a foot below where her feet hung. The restraints around her hands and feet were strong as always. She had given up on trying to free herself.

She would never leave this place, they told her. At least, not in one piece.

Her mind was in a haze, separated from her body. Her eyes trailed across the tubes and perforations that littered her Warframe. Just like her past, she didn't remember how it was before they got their hands on her. All she knew was that she wore nothing but a violated, despicable product of their experiments.

Her armour was mostly black, with segments of gray to serve as highlights. Crimson tubes ran through her torso, filling perforations that showed the heavy weave of her Warframe underneath. Scuff marks and scratches were everywhere, not a single surface free from the vile hands of her captors.

She felt a small tingle of anger, but it soon vanished into nothingness. She felt nothing anymore. Just pain.

Too much pain.

An unintentional whimper escaped her parched throat as she saw the door to her prison open with a hiss. The two pieces of metal slid into the wall smoothly, followed by the clatter of shoes on steel.

_They're coming..._

_No!_

Her body involuntarily struggled against her restraints as five people walked into the room. Four men and one woman. As per usual. The men wore blue environmental suits, their rubbery material glinting faintly from the swirling gases outside. The woman wore a red environmental suit, which hugged her curves and gave her the appearance of a huntress.

Emotionless faces looked at her, and she averted her gaze to the ground. She remembered glaring at them defiantly when they first spoke to her, but she also remembered how they had branded her. The wound on her arm had scabbed and festered, and she could do nothing to scratch the wound. Above all else, she remembered her fingers being broken. One each time she swore at them or shouted. She learnt her lesson after they had broken her seventh finger.

_Don't look at them unless they tell you to._

"She's being obedient," she heard the woman mutter, her voice failing to hide her malice for being here.

"Yes, she is," a man said. She recognized his voice. He was the leader of the "operation" on her. He was the worst of the lot, only concerned with results. She hated him the most.

"Our...investment continues to provide us with knowledge, gentlemen," the leader continued, clearly talking to the people accompanying him. Her neck ached from the awkward position.

"Today, we must test our serum on it. Our purpose: to understand the effects of the serum on its psyche. Physical discomfort is to be expected, and its neural impact on the test subject will also be recorded."

_It._

They referred to her as an "it". Like scum. Just an object. Meaningless. Worthless.

She heard one of them move up to her. Shiny boots entered her field of view, and she saw a reflection of herself on a particularly smooth section.

Dark eyes peered back at her, from sunken sockets. Full eyebrows crowned her dead orbs, and between them was a pointed nose, small for an ordinary person, but it framed her's perfectly. It was bent near the bridge, showing that it had been broken before. Her lips were chapped, and her skin was a ghostly gray . Her face was framed by a mat of brown hair, which hung limply. Her face was littered with scars, the smooth skin giving her face a weathered appearance. Seeing the sight almost brought tears to her eyes.

_I was once pretty. I remember. But now..._

She was more dead than living, and she looked like it. No wonder they referred to her as an "it".

"Look. Up."

She felt her neck sigh in relief as she raised her head autonomously to meet the gaze of the woman. Fiery orbs glared back at her, the look of disgust only augmented by her venomous voice.

"I said. Look. Up."

_What do you mean...?_

She grunted in agony as a hand pushed her head right up, forcing her to look up at the ceiling. Her neck was exposed to the woman, and she felt panic settle in. Her arms were renewed with energy and she struggled futilely against her restraints. She tried to stop her body, but it wouldn't listen.

_Stop! Please! Otherwise they will-_

A scream of agony tore through the room as the woman placed a small device by her temple. The electricity tore through her body, setting all her muscles on fire. She couldn't control her scream, and soon her lungs ran out of air. Spots of light were all she could see.

_I can't breathe..._

_I'm going to die..._

Just as soon as the pain started, it stopped. She was left faint and breathing heavily, gulping in huge quantities of air to feed her starved lungs. Her lower lip had split during the process, and she tasted the copper of blood dribble down her throat. Her head leaned against the wall that restrained her, still baring her neck to the woman.

"Stop struggling...SCUM!" the woman shouted as she felt a burning sensation on her cheek.

_She slapped me_, her mind told her.

"Now, now," she heard the voice of the leader, from somewhere to her left. "We don't want to cause our subject any more...distress than required do we?"

She saw as the woman gritted her teeth. "No we don't Alad."

"Good. Gentlemen, are we ready? Yes? Good. Karli, you may begin the experiment."

The woman nodded and raised a syringe to the Valkyr's throat. She whimpered again, and then gritted her teeth in preparation as she felt the pinprick of metal press against a vein on her throat. She groaned as the needle pierced her marred skin, injecting the unknown contents of the serum into her circulatory system. She relaxed as the injection was removed from her throat, and was surprised when she didn't feel anything.

"Vitals are low, but steady," she heard one of the men say.

"That will change soon," chuckled the man called Alad. She hated the man even more now. "We just need to let the serum circulate to her entire body."

Her body suddenly burned everywhere. Her muscles clenched, and she bit down on her tongue in shock. Mouth full of blood, she let loose a scream of agony as the fire burned through her body. This was too much, her body was going to explode. She felt her body disconnect from her mind, the pain nothing but a never ending nightmare. She didn't know how long she was in agony for. Her mouth was still open, but no sound came. Sweat poured down her face, and blood from her ruined tongue flowed down her throat, almost choking her.

"Results are looking good!" she heard a disembodied voice from somewhere around her. Everything was a blur of pain and darkness.

"Excellent. I believe our work here is done for today," said Alad.

"So I assume we're allowed to leave this filth be?" said the woman.

Alad laughed again, and she felt herself fading away from the agony.

"Yes, Karli. You may leave. I will send in a medical team to treat her wounds. Although, Tenno have substantial amounts of regenerative abilities due to their symbiosis with their Warframes."

"Whatever you say, Alad. I'm off."

She heard footsteps move away from her, vanishing into the haze of noise. A shadow moved into her line of sight, and she peered into evil eyes.

"I assume the serum is causing a lot of distress for you?" his acidic voice whispered to her. "That is...optimal."

He laughed again, as her pain started to pulse, nearly blinding her from the overwhelming agony.

"Tomorrow, we will try something new. I'm very close to finishing my greatest project, you see. All thanks to you and a few other of your kind. Don't worry, the serum should lose strength in a few hours. I'll send in a team to fix your tongue. We can't have you dying from your own blood now, can we?"

She vaguely saw him disappear into the haze, and her mind couldn't bear the agony anymore.

_They're coming back..._

_I will die tomorrow..._

She fainted, and her head hung limply downwards, a steady trickle of blood splattering against the floor beneath her.

_I will die tomorrow..._

**-]|[-**


	2. Chapter 2

"You wished to see me, sir?" asked the man, his posture indicative of nervousness. After all, it wasn't normal for an ordinary research assistant to be asked to meet the head of the entire Corpus research division, a member who held a position in the Board. He felt beads of sweat trickled down the back of his neck. Alad had an aura of insanity around him._ No_, he corrected himself as his boss appraised him with twinkling eyes and a sickening grin. _Its the aura of apathy._ The man cared for nothing but results and profit. That never went well with him.

After all, Keef Brickt wasn't part of the research team willingly. His family was forcefully "evicted" by the Corpus, following their inability to pay the mandatory housing fee in the Corpus controlled Deimos colony. He was resigned to work here and pay off the debts that his family owed, or risk never seeing them again as they were "relocated".

He was startled out of his reverie as a menacing laugh echoed through the room. The scene was dramatic: the swirling gases outside that permeated Jupiter's atmosphere, threw the insides of the room in shadow, giving Alad V a silhouette that suited his laugh perfectly.

"Are you afraid?" the man asked, his voice sowing the seeds of hatred even further into Keef's mind.

"No, sir. I'm not," the blue eyed man replied, straining to keep the nervousness out of his tone. _That bastard's like a bore. Give him one weakness, and he'll go right through me._

"Good to know. Now, Mr. Keef," drawled Alad, "I summoned you here with regards to our...precious test subject. I assume you have a report ready for me?"

The subordinate nodded. "Yes, I do. I have sent you a written version of the report already, but if you'd like me to elaborate vocally, I can do that as well."

"Please do."

After a deep breath, Keef started. "From our testing procedures, we have gained substantial information regarding the anatomy of the Tenno, but we still remain in the dark about how to replicate their biology. This is because of a vast number of factors. Initially, from the stimulus tests, we learned that the Tenno respond to pain just as ordinary humans do, signifying a similar nervous system structure. Our attempts at making the Ascaris probe work as intended failed, mostly due to biological failsafes present in a few of them. She is one of those few who can resist the Ascaris. A minor setback, fortunately. From further stimulus tests, we have noticed a steadily declining amount of delta waves when the subject is asleep, as well as an immediate switch of brain wave frequency during tests."

Alad raised a gloved hand to stop him there. "Steadily declining? Are you suggesting that we are losing our test subject."

Gritting his teeth, Keef nodded. _It's obvious, you dumb bastard. You're killing that woman. _"Yes, sir."

"Very well. I'll make arrangements for us to acquire a few more test subjects, but for the moment, let us try to keep that thing alive. The Zanuka project is almost at fruition after all."

"We will try our best, sir."

Yet another sick smile. "I'm sure you will. Continue."

"Her mind shuts itself down during our tests. Pain is still an overwhelming stimulus, but their neural chemistry autonomously increases theta wave generation and that allows them to...er...withdraw into themselves. That could explain their extreme resilience to stimulus during combat. With regards to physical effects of the testing, scar tissue generation is substantially quicker, but the dermis itself does not heal fast. Combat implications of this phenomenon mean a lesser chance for them to bleed out. Our cybernetic muscle implants and procedures show positive results. Muscle fibres are denser and repair times are far above average. Further testing is needed, but for now, that is all we have learned."

It took Alad a few moments to respond, during which his gaze bored into Keef, making the man nervously clutch his fingers behind his back.

"When can we begin testing out our new components on the test subjects?"

"The energy conduits, sir?"

Alad nodded. "Yes. They are essential to the Zanuka prototype and I would like to include them into the prototype's systems as soon as possible."

Keef bit his tongue, but decided to risk it nonetheless. "Sir, if I may?"

The sallow faced executive quirked an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"The Zanuka project is a massive endeavour, the first of its kind. I merely wish to know, if possible, why the stages are being rushed ahead of schedule."

Alad's face tightened noticeably. "Our Grineer..._associates_, have made demands for expansion into the Jupiter network. Something with regards to Tenno decimating several of their assembly lines and outposts on Phobos. Speaking of the Tenno, I am of the belief that the Lotus had moles in our organization. Which brings forth the implication that we could be faced with several Tenno attempting to...retrieve our test subject. Now you see, Mr. Keef, what with our new and less desirable neighbours and the Betrayer scum that are inevitably on our way, I wish for the prototype to be ready by then."

"Understood, sir. But I must advise against pushing the test subject any further. She requires more recovery time between tests, or we risk compromising her sanity and physical health."

Alad stood up, the simple action terrifying Keef like no other. "That is unacceptable. We will proceed as planned."

"But sir-"

"Mr. Keef," Alad hissed. "Must I remind you of your position in this research project, or rather, the people you call family?"

_You f*cking bastard! _"No sir. I'm sorry."

"I expect you to ensure that our test subject stays alive. Regardless of the costs. Oh, and please refrain from calling it a she. Having an attachment for scum like that is unbecoming of you."

"Very well sir. I shall do my best."

The man sat down, his mind clearly somewhere else already. "I'm sure you will. Dismissed."

Keef silently walked out of the room, exhaling loudly as the lighting of the corridor accompanied him away from that room. The hallways were quiet, the only sounds accompanying him were the faint hiss of the air filtration systems and machinery far below him, near the depths of the facility. He checked the time once he reached his assigned terminal.

_I need to go and tend to her_, he thought, immediately picking up a few supplies scattered around his desk and throwing them onto a cart. The Tenno in their custody was quite human, and humans needed cleaning and solid food quite often. Being the lowest ranking researcher in the facility, Keef was assigned to be responsible of that task, and he hated it.

Not because he considered her a lowlife, but rather because he felt powerless to try and help her out of this damned facility. He couldn't even nurse the idea of setting her free for several reasons. One, neither of them would be powerful enough to escape the facility, what with the several dozen guards and proxies that prowled the corridors, and two, his family was under the control of Alad. One word from either his or Karli's mouth meant death for them. That alone made it so that the Ascaris wasn't required for Keef's loyalty. His thoughts slowly changed towards the female Tenno they were experimenting on. Despite the several inhumane things done to her, she had survived them, barely so, and that gave him some hope. _If she can hold out a bit longer, her kind might be able to take her away from this place._

Trundling along with the cart, he examined the syringe with a yellow fluid. _That should help her bear the trauma of the next test. Its about the only thing I can do now._


End file.
